The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are fast approaching, with their share of obstacles. While the last mile seems to worry retailers, logistics providers are nevertheless well prepared.
The Paris Olympic Games are fast approaching, raising many questions among retail players. Last-mile logistics is one of them. The major problem for service providers and retailers is the contradiction between restrictions and demand. Indeed, with 15 million visitors expected in the capital, the demand for food products (including drinks) is likely to be very high. Thus, Bruno Kloeckner, General Manager France of XPO Logistics precise : “All our teams focused on what we call “food and bev” will be very mobilized to ensure delivery.” Despite this mobilization, the problem is that a large part of the food deliveries arrive by river. The company supplies in particular Franprix by transporting the packages on the Seine, which will be closed to all boats on July 26 and 27 for the opening ceremony and on July 23 and August 10 because of the Paris marathon.
So, for XPO Logistics, The red period begins at the end of July. “When river logistics are impossible for us, all our road resources will be reserved to deliver Franprix in the capital as a priority”explains Bruno Kloeckner. He specifies that “The government has worked hard on arrangements around the days of interruption with measures that have been taken such as extending the operating times of the locks.”
Upstream work
The companies Ciblex and Relais had also prepared the ground by exchanging ideas for several months with LUJOP, TLF and Paris 2024. For both BtoB and BtoC deliveries, they plan to jointly rely on the regularity of their recipients and local points for Relais Colis or professionals for Ciblex (opticians, pharmacists, etc.). This will allow them to ensure delivery including to blue and red regulated zones, but also to limit unnecessary kilometers and congestion on associated routes.
On the XPO Logistics side, the company has focused part of its preparation work on managing “buffer zones.” “We have identified storage spaces near the Olympic cities, which we are making available in anticipation of congestion in the centres. This will allow us to have our stocks nearby and thus be much more responsive in terms of travel times.”détaille Bruno Kloeckner. As for the operators, the logistician has planned a reinforced team during the period, by limiting its employees’ leave during the busiest days.
Despite the confidence displayed by the three companies, doubts remain. It is indeed impossible to predict the behavior of Parisians. Will they flee the capital or stay at home? The question of customer behavior also arises concerning tourists. Their consumption can be very high or very low, on the internet or in local stores. Likewise on the first kilometer, The big unknown is the level of congestion on the main roads around the Olympic cities or Roissy airport, for example.
When obstacles become levers
Pour Bruno Kloeckner, The Olympic Games and their obstacles are an opportunity to improve XPO Logistics’ offering: “We are taking advantage of this to strengthen our use of Cyclo delivery, especially for the transport of individual pallets.”
In addition, the deployment of the XPO Logistics electric fleet allows the company to tackle this major event with carbon-free equipment. “Since politicians wanted carbon-neutral Olympics, we were able to seize this opportunity to bring our expertise in this area“says Bruno Kloeckner.
Source: www.ecommercemag.fr
